Countryside

I've been having problems with formating these posts with photos so I think from now on I 'm going to just write in one post and follow it up with a post of just photos and maybe some brief descriptions.  Ok?...hello....?  anyybody there....?

  Riiiight.  Its been a while since I've posted.  Thats because I've been swamped with work.  Last weekend was pretty gnarly.  I had this bitchin' headache and no medicine on Thursday night (this is 6/11, mind you) so I went to class completely unsuited to teach.  I told my childrens class about my problem, bless their little hellion hearts, they actually were agreeable for once.  They were quiet and obedient, telling each other to shut up when one got too loud.  Even quietly doing their homework and insisting I "sleep, teacher, sleep!" whenever I ventured to raise and eyelid.  Unbelievable.

  The plan was to catch the train immediately after class with my friend Erca and head to his girlfriends' parents home in a town called Mandal.  I was still hurtin' from sleep deprivation but there was no way I was going to turn down an opportunity to see the countryside, I'd been cooped up in this damn city for too long!  So I got on this old reminant of the Soviet empire for three hours of uncomfortable riding.  I felt bad for my host as I was non too lively but damn I was tired.  He fed me some horse meat sausage which didn't agree with my stomach and I passed out.  Later we hiked to the house we were staying at.  I collapsed into the bed they offered me but, tired as I was, it took a long time before I could actually fall asleep.  Something about sleeping in a new space always puts me a little on edge.

  The next morning we slept in and woke up to a breakfast of beef stew.  I couldn't  believe it.  This is the kind of meal I like to eat for dinner in winter when I'm ready to be warm, full and sleepy.  Beef stew for breakfast.  Ooof.  Too heavy to start the day.  

  My host and I ventured out to begin our tour of the country side.  I requested a hike in some trees so we made off towards a promising mountain off in the distance.  I swear it looked closer but the more we walked the farther away it got.  We climbed one hill thinking it would yield our goal across the next valley only to find another hill and valley beyond.  This happened five times.  Our relentless march was strained further by a merciless sun.  A buzzard circled over head, surely awaiting our eventual collapse.  God was not with him on this day.  Along the way we saw a fox trotting in the distance, a hare scared from his hidey hole and a wee lizard darting through the tall grasses beneath our feet.  I saw my first dung beetle, rolling a ball of shit, sho nuff.  In a gopher hole I saw the body of a snake slithering around the corner.

  Storm clouds rolled over the steppe as we hiked, catching up to us just as we reached the crest of our destination.  We estimated it a 15km trek out after which I was already cashed.  We layed low a bit as the storm swept around us, just kissing us with a misty breeze.  Thunder echoed across the valley but the lightning never came close.  Still would've been wise to seek low ground.  Oh, well.  The hike back was outlandishly long, and my damnable flat feet were screaming as we returned.  Once again to bed and a long easy sleep afterward.

  More beef stew for breakfast, delicious but so inappropriate.  We jumped on ancient mountain bikes and b-lined for the river.  I've ridden trails before but this was the first time I've ever really ridden totally cross country.  The river was a completely different climate.  With richer, wetter soil the land was actually bright green as opposed to the dry brown of the steppe.  We came across some ranchers who let me ride one of their horses a bit.  It felt really small and cramped, totally unergonomical.  I think I'll stick to the western horses thank you.

  Later we climbed another rocky hill that afforded some sweet views of the valley below.  Apparently Mandal is one of the few towns that is experiencing any luck with agriculture so they're really developing farming practices out here.

  A grueling train ride at three in the morning returned me to my post.  A few short hours of fitful sleep and then its back  to work.  Monday was rough as I was suffering the triple threat of sleep deprivation, dehydration, and probable malnutrition.  I need some spinach and some sleep.  Peace out!